The Other Side
I paid 2,000 pesos to watch the Philippine Azkals play against the Los Angeles Galaxy on December 3. I am the 1%.
Much has been said about the game—but more about the exorbitant ticket prices. For 2,000 pesos, you get to sit behind the goal and be vulnerable to rain. Add 13,500 pesos and you get shade and a wonderful view of the match. Or, just don’t pay anything—tune in to your favorite local TV sports commentator covering the game and enjoy the match in the comfort of your home, perhaps with some friends. In the end, you still get to see David Beckham and company.
There are people who believe the prices are fair. To pay at least 2,000 pesos to watch world-class players like Beckham, Donovan and Keane play live in the Philippines should be worth it. The prices also limit the bandwagon fans from showing up—inversely, though, it also frustrates genuine fans without the financial capacity for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But this is precisely the point of those who find the tickets expensive: the accessibility of a top game and the potential exposure to a very good team in the MLS has gone down the drain because of the prices.
Yet the deeper issue here is obviously the accessibility of football. It seems to be reaffirming or even reestablishing the notion that football is meant for the rich. The luxury of playing in a huge, open field as opposed to the accessibility our kalyes have surely contributed to the rise of basketball. So if the point of the Azkals–LA Galaxy game is to increase the popularity of the sport in the country, then by pricing tickets that high, the organizers have already pushed people away. Because of the exorbitant ticket prices, once again the authorities seem to be putting football on top of a hill, so to speak.
Perhaps, however, that really isn’t the point of this entire visit.
Foreign teams often go to another country for the opportunity to interact with an international team; this increases their marketability and the interest surrounding them, widens the fan base, and potentially increases sales. Let’s face it—the decision to go to Asia and play against teams is primarily a marketing tactic and is no charity event. Perhaps, that’s why Beckham is still going despite the expiration of his contract. Perhaps, that’s why we see ticket prices that expensive.
To say that the authorities have not given the fans fair access to football based only on the ticket prices of the LA Galaxy game is hogwash. The tickets for Azkals games remain to be cheap, and watching a UFL, UAAP or NCAA football match does not even require tickets—but even so, there are hardly any people watching these games. It is possible to watch the Younghusband brothers and our favorite Azkals for free, yet there are few people who actually watch the games.
Let’s face it—people want to watch Beckham and company, yet refuse to pay that much and claim that the game is inaccessible to the general public. But what’s the difference between the Galaxy and, let’s say, Paramore or John Mayer, who charge high for their concerts as well? Because of the football fever we have, it’s easy to find a scapegoat. Sometimes, we really just have to pay a premium for artists or professionals who have done brilliantly.
I am part of the 1% of fans who have paid, and quite frankly, I’ll be going to the match to watch the LA Galaxy, a team I’ve supported since 2006. Not the Azkals.
